Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-06-18
A Day Out.

A Day Out
The day was agreeably cool. just right
for drive into the country although rath-
er unfavorable for squashes and early
garden crops. But the roads were in
splendid condition, the earth and sky and
air lovely and exhilarating. and the
prompt little stepper-one of Charley
Cobb's best teams-took US along at a
lively rate without sweating hair or 80
much as requiring slap of the rein tor
the entire .'round-trip" distance of our
ride. The route lay through Augusta
by Western Avenue, Manchester, East
Readfeld and Readtield Depot to the old
village of Readfeld Corner, through as
charming region of Kennebec county as
can possibly be selected fer drive OF
dozen or fifteen miles. This section of
old Kennebec is one OF the grandest fruit
regions of the State, and within little
more than a mile of each other one passes
four orchards which comprise total OF
about eight thousand trees. These are
the orchard of J Pope & Son. 25O0 trees;
Ezra Percival, 600 trees; F. o. Boynton,
1000 trees, and C. G.. Atkins, 1900 trees.
Mr.. Atkins owns large tract Of land in
Manchester and Read6eld which is grad
ualIy being put into one great orchard. as
several hundred trees were set this spring
and the entire number upon his farms is
now between four and five thousands.
Three men are constantly employed here
under charge of Mr.. Frank Grodon. Mr..
Atkins being in Massachusetts in connec-
ton with special work with the United
States Fish Commission, with which he
has been connected for many years.
|. Along the road we saw many trees that
had been completely stripped of their
foliage by the apple tree or tent caterpil-
lar, and there we're many, many disgust.
ing nests OF this destructive insect which
we wanted to get from our carriage and
destroy. We also learned that the genu-
inc Massachusetts canker worm has been
ravaging, to some extent. the trees in the
orchard of the Messrs. Pope. These
gentlemen. as we also learned, have
been using this spring an arsenical
solution with which they have
sprayed their trees for destroying the
Goblin worm moth, as is now done to so
large an extent by the orchardists in the
great fruit region of the middle and
western States. Grass all along the line
of our drive is looking remarkably rank,
thick and tall. The cold weather of the
past week has been very favorable for its
growth, and the prospect is certainly
promising for heavy yield of hay all
through the towns visited. Hoed crops,
however, are generally small and back
ward, in many cases corn was Just up
June l5th-and in several instances we
conversed with farmers who said that their
corn was not planted till the 10Th of June
On hill farms here the frost holds off late
they are sure of crop even though the
planting seems late. Early sowed grain
looks we'll.
At Readfeld Corner a brief call was
made at the residence of DR.. G. M.
Twitchell, who has for MANY years given
considerable attention to the poultry bust
ness. making the breeding of Plymouth
Rocks something of specially. Lately
he has also bred the White Plymouth
Rock. the popular new breed which orig
mated with MIR. II. F. Frost of Monmouth
in this county. DR.. Twitchell has now at
his home yards about two hundred birds
young and old, and owns as many more
which are being kept for him by parties
in other towns. Here we inspected five
breeding pens of White and four of Grey
Plymouth Rocks, in which were several
prize birds of great beauty. No lover of
poultry can fail to be pleased with these
new birds-the White Plymouth Rocks
They are an elegant color, handsome,
square bodied, having rich yellow legs,
and are beside good layers and fine table
fowls. DR.. Twitchell has sent birds into
dozen States this spring, including Cali
tornia. Dakota, Montana and Kansas, be.
sides British North America, the Provinces
and Canada and other distant points. He
also has about fifty White Pekin ducks,
some of which weighed five pounds at
seven weeks old, and which will be
dressed for market at eleven weeks old,
DR.. rwitchell has not used the incubator this
spring, and from what he said we judged
he was not inclined to favor its use, unless
in a building where the temperature can
i, be absolutely controlled. Where change
of two or three degrees of temperature is
positively disastrous to eggs in an incuba-